Animals in the classical world : ethical perspectives from Greek and Roman texts / Alastair Harden, University of Reading.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harden, Alastair, 1984-

Series:

Palgrave Macmillan animal ethics series

The Palgrave Macmillan animal ethics series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animal welfare--Moral and ethical aspects--History.

Animal welfare.

Civilization, Classical.

Animal welfare--Moral and ethical aspects.

History.

Rome--Civilization.

Rome.

Rome (Empire).

Civilization.

Greece--Civilization--To 146 B.C.

Greece.

Physical Description:

xii, 222 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Summary:

How were non-human animals treated in the Classical world, and how did ancient authors record their responses to animals in Greek and Roman life? The civilizations of Greece and Rome left detailed records of their experience and opinions of animals: in these societies, which practised mass sacrifice and large-scale public animal hunts, as well as being economically reliant on animal power and products, how were animals actually treated and how was it acceptable to treat them? This sourcebook presents specially prepared translations from Greek and Latin texts across several genres which give a wide-reaching sense of the place of the non-human animal in the moral register of Classical Greece and Rome. From theories of the origins of animal life and vegetarianism, literary uses of animal imagery and its role in formulating cultural identity, to vivid descriptions of vivisection, force-feeding, intensive farming, agricultural and military exploitation, and detailed accounts of animal-hunting and the trade in exotic animal products: the battleground of the modern animal rights debate is here given its historical foundation in a selection of nearly 200 passages of Classical authors from Homer to Porphyry. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Defining 'Animal': Ancient Writers on Animal Nature

1 Animal Origins, Minds and Capacities 17

2 Animal Justice and Morals 46

3 The Ancient Idea of Vegetarianism 64

4 Observing and Imagining Animal Behaviour 87

5 Animals and Cultural Identity 103

6 Bucolic Ideals and the Golden Age 110

Part II The Treatment of Animals in the Classical World

7 Animal Study and Experimentation 125

8 Animals and Warfare 135

9 The Economic Animal: Farming, Food and Trade 141

10 Sacrifice and Sacred Animals 156

11 Hunting Animals 167

12 Animals and Public Entertainment 181.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230276611

023027661X

OCLC:

842208300